UK deploys AstraZeneca fire but PM Johnson warns of ‘tough and difficult weeks’ ahead

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain began vaccinating its population on Monday with COVID-19 from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, a world first, running to protect the elderly and vulnerable as a new wave of cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals.

Amid an increasingly gloomy backdrop of record daily cases, Britain has touted a scientific ‘triumph’ as ​​dialysis patient Brian Pinker, 82, became the first person to be shot at the Oxford / AstraZeneca in outside of a test.

“I am very happy to receive the COVID vaccine today and really proud that it is the one that was invented in Oxford,” said Pinker, a retired maintenance manager, a few hundred yards from where the vaccine has been developed.

Britain, grappling with the sixth-worst global record and one of the worst economic consequences of the COVID crisis, was the first country to roll out the vaccine developed by Pfizer and German BioNTech a little less ago of a month.

It prioritizes giving a first dose of vaccine to as many people as possible rather than giving second doses, despite the concern of some doctors and scientists.

Two new variants of the coronavirus complicate the response to COVID-19 and Britain has seen a resurgence of cases to new daily highs.

Scientists are not entirely convinced the COVID-19 vaccines will work on a variant found in South Africa, ITV political editor Robert Peston said, while cases have also been fueled by a highly transmissible UK variant.

AstraZeneca’s deployment came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of “tough and difficult weeks ahead” and said further restrictions for England were imminent.

“If you look at the numbers, there is no doubt that we will have to take tougher measures and announce them in due course,” Johnson said during a visit to see health workers receive the vaccine from Oxford.

More than 75,000 people in the UK have died from COVID-19 within 28 days of testing positive, and millions in England are already living under the strictest level of restrictions.

In front of Johnson, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon imposed the strictest lockdown since last spring.

“It is no exaggeration to say that I am more concerned about the situation we are facing now than I have been at any time since March,” she said.

TRIUMPH FOR SCIENCE

Since the Pfizer vaccine rollout began on December 8, Britain has administered more than a million COVID-19 vaccines – more than the rest of Europe combined, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, adding that it was a triumph of British science.

Johnson’s government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine that can be stored at refrigerator temperatures between two and eight degrees, making it easier to distribute than the Pfizer vaccine.

Six hospitals in England are administering the first of some 530,000 doses that Britain has loaned. The program will be rolled out to hundreds of other UK sites in the coming days, and the government hopes it will deliver tens of millions of doses within months.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it administered 4.2 million first doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday morning and distributed 13.07 million doses.

More than a tenth of Israel’s population has received a vaccine, and it currently administers more than 150,000 doses per day.

Germany and Denmark are exploring the possibility of delaying the administration of a second dose of Pfizer vaccine to ensure scarce supplies go further, after a similar decision by Britain last week.

Britain became the first Western country to approve and roll out a COVID-19 vaccine, despite being months behind Russia and China who have been inoculating their citizens for months. Others have taken a longer, more cautious approach. Several different vaccines are still in late trials.

India approved the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use on Sunday.

Andrew Pollard, the head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, was among those who received the vaccine on Monday.

“We are on the verge of being overwhelmed by this disease,” he told BBC TV. “I think (the vaccine) gives us some hope, but I think we have some tough weeks ahead.”